Studies in Mystical Cousin Olivers 101
by Palgrave Goldenrod
Summary: There's something Abed finds a little... off about Annie's younger sister.


**Studies in Mystical Cousin Olivers 101 (a.k.a Dawn Edison)**

**Author: **Palgrave

**Fandom: **_Community/ Buffy the Vampire Slayer_

**Characters: **Dawn Summers, The Study Group

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, none of it's mine!

**Author's Notes: **Inspired both by Booster's fantastic 'Other Surnames' series at LiveJournal, a collection of drabbles picturing our favourite Key being sent to another protector, and dorkishavenger's equally fantastic fleshing out of #14 at AO3. Read them; you won't regret it. _Read all of them_.

As ever, feedback and constructive criticism welcome; enjoy!

**Summary: **There's something Abed finds a little… off about Annie's younger sister.

* * *

"Something's different," Abed Nadir says, frowning.

Dawn Edison sniffs. "Is he going freaky again?"

Annie Edison glares at her sister. "Don't call him a freak."

Jeff Winger sighs, and looks up from his phone for the first time. "Annie, why's the brat here?"

"Hey!"

"Don't call my sister a brat!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Annie. It's just that it's the only word that seems fitting, what with her perpetual bratty teenage obnoxiousness and all."

"Hey!"

"You guys don't see it?" Abed insists. His eyes flick around the room suspiciously. "Something's changed."

"Well," Pierce Hawthorne chuckles modestly, "I _did_ have a threesome with two latinas last night." Everyone loudly protests this unneeded contribution to the discussion. "What? It arose organically."

"Pierce," Annie protests, "not in front of…" she nods her head towards Dawn in a fashion which would have been subtle and unobtrusive had Dawn not actually been sitting right next to her. Dawn in turn shot Annie a look that was more offended than would probably have been called for had she not been a stroppy younger sister in the middle of puberty.

"I'm aware of sex, you know, Annie. Even gross old person sex."

"Dawn!"

"What? Sex sex sex sex sex…"

"Dawn!" At this point, Annie is looking far more embarrassed and with wounded innocence than the person she's trying to protect from embarrassment and wounded innocence.

"Oh yeah," Jeff mutters, "having this little ball of sunshine and good feeling around makes this place _so_ much more tolerable."

"I'm serious," Abed insists. "It's weird. It's almost as if reality's been spontaneously rewritten to incorporate the sudden addition of a completely new character out of nowhere."

Shirley Bennett looks confused. "I don't understand what you're saying, Abed," she says gently.

"You're not alone there, Shirley. Abed, please don't refer to us as 'characters'. No one knows what you're talking about, even if we do share your frustration at having Annie's annoying little sister around."

"Hey!" Dawn folds her arms and pouts.

"You guys know perfectly well that at this time of day it's more convenient to bring Dawn straight here after school than to take her home and come back," Annie fumes, crossing her arms. "And if you didn't like it you had ample opportunity to raise your objections at the pre-semester planning meeting I organised. Which, oh, _none of you came to_. Or even replied to my email about."

"Gee," Dawn says, inserting an extra layer of sarcasm into her voice just to be sure the message got across, "thanks for talking about me like some kind of hideous burden, Annie."

"Don't be obnoxious, Dawn."

"You're being obnoxious!"

"No, you're being obnoxious!"

"No, _you're_ being obnoxious!"

"You know," Jeff muses, "Call me crazy, but I can't help but think you two have just about exhausted the nuances of that particular conversation."

"Shut up, Jeff!" the sisters snap synchronously, before glaring at each other again. There's a moment of awkward silence.

"You guys don't see it, then," Abed continues.

Any response is interrupted when Troy Barnes and Britta Perry enter the study room, making an attempt to subtly smooth out their slightly disheveled clothing and casually look like they aren't late because they definitely weren't making out in the book-stacks just then, which only serves to make it more obvious to everyone that they were definitely making out in the book-stacks just then.

"Hey guys," Troy says. He shoots a big grin at Dawn. "Hey, Dawn."

"Hey Troy," Dawn sings out, grinning in the way that only a teenage girl trying to hide a huge crush and failing miserably can.

"Cool shirt," Troy continues, sitting down. Dawn's face just about explodes with happiness. Annie just rolls her eyes (somewhat hypocritically, it has to be said, in light of her own expired crush on the same person).

"Dawnie!" Britta yells cheerfully, completely oblivious to either Dawn's crush on her boyfriend.

Dawn's voice and face turns to ice as soon as she sees Britta, right behind the object of her totally real and pure love. "Hey, _Britta_." she mutters sulkily.

Naturally, Britta is also completely oblivious to Dawn's obvious jealousy. "Bring it in for a high five!"

After a few seconds, Dawn stonily slaps her palm to Britta's with a lack of enthusiasm and palpable to everyone in the room except Britta, who just looks stoked at connecting with the young people.

"Okay," Jeff mutters, returning to his phone, "fun though it is validating Dawn's existence, can we get started? I have better things to be doing right now."

"Like what?" Dawn sneers. "Do you need to strategically shave your legs, or make sure that your hair matches your socks?"

Before Jeff could retaliate, Annie sighed, fed-up. "Dawn, go and sit on the couches."

Dawn pouts, and begins moodily picking up her bags with more force than is necessary. "You _suck_," She mutters before stomping over to the couch in a snit.

As Dawn slouches over to the blue couches in the corner of the room, Abed watches her go. He takes note of the slight green tinge that seems to surround her, apparently unnoticeable to anyone but himself, and a theory begins to form.

A _very_ cool theory.

Cool cool cool.

* * *

On the way home after their study group, as Annie and Dawn walk ahead of them bickering as always, Abed quickly pulls Troy aside.

"Troy, I think we've been Chosen."

"Hey, man, I don't want to do exercise twelve in the textbook either, but to be fair we _did_ volunteer…"

"Not chosen. Chosen. With a capital 'c', as in 'Chosen One'."

"Cool!"

"I know, right?"

"Now you mention it, I actually was feeling pretty Chosen this morning," Troy muses. "What've we been Chosen for?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it's something to do with Dawn. I don't think it's a coincidence her mom just kicked her out and she's had to move in with Annie and us."

"That _did_ seem pretty harsh, even for Annie's mom."

"I know. I think she's hiding from something."

"Like drug-dealers? Dude, I know there's been a turf-war since Star-Burns' death, but I think Dawn's a little young to be Breaking Bad…"

"Not like that. Something bigger. Something that Dawn might not even be aware of."

Troy's eyes gleam. "Hey, yeah. Maybe she has, like, special DNA, and there's something written in her special DNA that maybe gives her superpowers or something. Also, there are aliens."

"Awesome."

"I know, right?"

"I think we're supposed to protect her, while possibly developing into some kind of messianic archetype along the way."

"I _love_ messianic archetypes," Troy grins. "Can we get hats?"

Abed just shoots him a look, like _duh, of_ course _we can get hats_.

"Keep it between us for now," Abed insists. "But I think we're gonna have to bring the group in on this eventually. Once they're ready to accept their respective roles in the monumental task that lies ahead. For now, we need to prepare. We have been selected for a responsibility of grave importance, and it is vital that we train ourselves to the peak of understanding in order to anticipate the enemies who may set themselves upon Dawn."

Troy nods seriously.

"Ergo," Abed continues, "I propose we start with _The Golden Child_, then _The Fifth Element_, before wrapping up with _Inspector Spacetime_ season thirty-four."

"The one where Constable Reggie becomes a mini-universe?"

"The same."

"Awesome."

They do their special handshake.

"Troy and Abed being Cho-sen."

* * *

_And elsewhere, a monk watches them go, and thinks to himself:_

_Yes._

_Unorthodox, perhaps, but yes. I think the Key is in very good hands indeed._


End file.
